It’s the day of the North London derby. Regardless of what is happening or not happening, this is the main focus today.
After a 3-1 win at our place in early October, we are aiming for a derby double for the first time since 2013/14. At White Hart Lane, an early rocket from Tomas Rosicky gave us a 1-0 win, and that was the last time we had three points there. To say that we are behind is to understate it by some distance.
The stakes are always high in this game, a lot of history and all, but I hope last May is fresh in the minds of this Arsenal team. The dubious penalty, the red card, the pain of what that defeat in the top four chase would likely mean. It’s one I would put in a tightly sealed box in my mind, but thinking about it now is upsetting and I hope we’re out for revenge today.
To be fair, the team we sent back then was not as established as the one that will play today. Cedric at right back, Rob Holding at center half, a fit half Takehiro Tomiyasu at left back. There was no Thomas Partey in midfield. White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko as a back four today is much more confident and capable. Beyond that, the Arsenal team chooses itself. The only difference from that team that won in October is Eddie Nketiah instead of Gabriel Jesus, all other parts being the same.
It will be interesting to see how the teams start this one. The Spurs have been routinely poor in the first halves of games this season. Is that something Antonio Conte wants to tackle in the red-hot atmosphere of the derby? We have also seen Arsenal start games very well this season. Will that make Conte sit down? Have they seen how Newcastle frustrated us and will they try to do something similar, betting on their quality from the beginning and the inevitable sanction they will receive?
When asked what he expected from Spurs, Arteta said:
I dont know. Sometimes they approach the games in different ways. Sometimes they are very aggressive early on and sometimes they let you play the game and they have a lot of tools to cause you trouble. Let’s see how the game develops. We will prepare for any occasion in the best possible way and then it will be up to the players to do what they have to do on the pitch.
The return of Emile Smith Rowe is a well-timed boost for us, giving us a little more off the bench than we’ve had for most of the season. We saw in the Newcastle game that Mikel Arteta didn’t feel like he had the right player to bring in. And to be honest, I can understand why he didn’t turn to Fabio Vieira in the context of that particular game, but Smith Rowe has scored goals off the bench and could be a very useful weapon today.
Yesterday’s result in the Manchester derby also adds a bit more to proceedings. If we win, we’re eight points behind them. Don’t be fooled by Pep Guardiola conceding the title, no one is fool enough to believe that, especially when we have to play City twice. But it is a great opportunity today.
I have the Liverpool game in mind before this one. It had been so long since we had properly defeated them, and we did. This feels similar. Arteta says:
In recent years there were places that we have not won in 15, 17 or 20 years. I would like to do it all at once. We haven’t been able to do that, so we have a great challenge and a great opportunity on Sunday to achieve that.
Any victory in the derby is always welcome, but today’s would be very special. Not just because it’s in place, but because of what it could mean for our title push. Fingers crossed.
There’s a preview podcast on Patreon now if you’re looking to listen on a Sunday to keep you in the mood.
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The other big news this morning is Chelsea owning the Mykhaylo Mudryk deal, of course. That’s what they do.
???? Chelsea have reached an agreement with Shakhtar Donetsk for Mykhailo Mudryk. €70M + €30M accessories. Contract agreement of more than 7 years. Leaving Turkey for London to undergo doctors. Not signed yet, but done deal. With @SJohnsonSport @AdamCrafton_ @TheAthleticFC #CFC https://t.co/LlFyvfQvho
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) January 14, 2023
From Arsenal’s perspective, it’s disappointing because it looked like he was coming, having spent months looking to move to north London. Instead, the Ukraine international has chosen to join a chaotic club where fans still routinely chant the name of one of Vladimir Putin’s cronies whose companies help build the weapons of war turned against his country. Money talks, huh?
I’ve seen that Arsenal’s offer was reported to be close to €95m for him, and Chelsea’s was €100, so why don’t we just use the extra €5m? To be honest, I don’t think our offer was that high. I just can’t see it, and so much of the reporting about this transfer has been mixed with misinformation and shenanigans, it’s hard for me to substantiate that kind of figure. We clearly wanted it, but Shakhtar got their €100m from a club that really doesn’t care how they spend their money. I also believe that the package that Mudryk is in, with a contract of more than seven years, will also add tens of millions to the deal.
Like I said, I liked the idea of it, but there’s still a lot you can do with the money we have available on this market. The question now is how many Arsenal eggs were in this basket. My feeling is quite a lot, if not all, but that doesn’t change the fact that we still need additions this January. Mudryk is far from the only player out there. The club has signed well in recent windows and now he has to show that he can do it again. To pivot towards something and someone else. And fast.
No doubt names will come up, rumors will start and whatnot, but having been involved in such a public search and getting lost/choosing not to push for the player, we need to see what plan B is. what he wants, and although this could be a blow to his plans, it’s up to Edu and the club to give him what he needs. The opportunity we have this season is so great, to spend another January without taking advantage of it would be to be on the brink of disaster. So let’s see what happens and how quickly we can move on to someone else.
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Ok, let’s leave it there for now. We’ll have all the usual live blog and post-game coverage on Arseblog News.
Come on reds!
